


Years of struggle still ahead (All the trouble in my head)

by WhyAreYouLaughing



Series: A Tale of Liars [5]
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Character Study, Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 18:52:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13129893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhyAreYouLaughing/pseuds/WhyAreYouLaughing
Summary: All the inhabitants of this place had long since adapted to the fact that each generation is worse than the last.Or Hanna Marin wonders about how far the 'bad guys' are from the 'good guys' in this world.





	Years of struggle still ahead (All the trouble in my head)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the kudos on previous works. The title is from Icon for Hire's song "Think I'm Sick"

_Remember when the darkness wasn't all you had to see._  
_Remember when a part of you still hoped for what could be._  
_Well I got this suit of armor and a sword I need to swing._  
_Wake wake wake up child. -All The King's Men by The Rigs._

\---------------

People get use to betrayal after a while. It starts to feel less like their world stops, and more like a vicious circle.

(V-I-C-I-O-U-S C-I-R-C-L-E, Hanna watched Spencer spell at one of her competitions. "An attempt to solve a problem that ends up worsening it.")

A burnt child fears fire, unless you live in Rosewood, where they thrive and die beside it.

This is a world where the good guys are the people who feel a bit of guilt when they kill someone.

(Honestly, if that's the definition, Hanna isn't sure if she's a good guy. Archer deserved to die.)

Just another thing that showed that life isn't a superhero comic. 

In those, reformed villains don't have illnesses that render them to a fraction of their ability.

In those, the family of the worse supervillains isn't a friend who's been by your side since you were a kid.

(In those, everyone gets their happy ending but Hanna doesn't see one coming for any of them.)

All the inhabitants of this place had long since adapted to the fact that each generation is worse than the last.

Mrs. D. taught Charlotte how to be A, and Charlotte taught Alex. It makes sense, after all their parents taught them how to lie.

(Sometimes, in the deepest corners of her mind, Hanna thinks that Alison or Spencer would of made a great A.)

(She already has chilling memories of them in black hoodies from their younger years.)

Mona was (is) a genius, but occasionally Hanna wonders what gave her the idea of the game in the first place.

Was it those words that Alison growled everyday at lunch? Or was it those notes she got. All saying 'Freak' or 'Loser.'

(Hanna remembered sending one. Alison had smiled, convincing her that it was a good idea.)

("She deserves it." The other blonde said. Don't they all?)

Even if Mona never started the broken game, this town would be so far from perfect.

Charlotte would still be locked in Radley for her parents own reasons, and Alex would still be an orphan with no one to call family.

(Did they really deserve that for being born?)

The girls would still have things kept from them that would shake their world. They would still be kids caught in lies too big.

The bullied would still be the bullied, and the rulers would still be the rulers. They all would still be dying inside.

(Kids are human, and humans are dangerous, no matter what the situation is.)

Perhaps the world would look a little brighter if Hanna didn't have memories of the Dollhouse. (But it all depends on the point of view.)

Of a place that forced friend against friend. Made them tell cold truths and lay hands on each other.

(Childish games somehow turned into torture. Would You Rather, Truth or Dare, I Never Ever.)

When they got home, Caleb had handed her a disk. A copy, he said. Of all the footage they had been sent.

She never watched it, instead she locked it into a jewelry box. Tucking the box at the back of her closet.

(One day, Hanna swears, she'll watch it. When she feels any kind of remorse for Charlotte.)

She knows what is on that video is more proof that anyone can do monstrous actions under the right circumstances.

No, they aren't good guys, but they're not the bad guys either. They're all just adults who were scarred as children.

(So maybe they don't get a guaranteed happy ending, but that's life. They have a chance of it, and that is enough.)


End file.
